Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.

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Read

Psalm 139:13-18 (NRSV)

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.

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Reflect

The psalmist described my struggle—and that of many others. The works of God are wonderful. I am a work of God; therefore, I am wonderful. As a young adult, I slowly came to a realization that God had been trying to show me for many years. This realization came when I was talking about my physical characteristics. I said to someone, “Well, I’m like my mom that way, but I have my dad’s mom’s…” God stopped me and said, “But you would never say that any of them are not beautiful.” Of course God was right.

How much less would we be likely to declare a sunset hideous or the clear night sky ugly? When we tear ourselves down, we are in essence insulting God’s handiwork. I am terrified of insulting God. God is the cornerstone of my world, Jesus the scaffold around which I build my life. I do not doubt God’s promises or Jesus’ sacrifice. I cannot imagine insulting God, but I have very little problem berating myself. The realization that those two things are often exactly the same came as a shock.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made, because you were made by God.

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Pray

Dear God, Thank you for my life and for making me who and what I am. Help me to remember that each of your works has a purpose and a plan—including me. Give me strength to see myself as you see me. Guide me to know and use the gifts you have given me in the situations where you place me. Amen.

Go with God.